Arsenic
by fengbi
Summary: As Gabriel Agreste ponders his own life, the sacrifices he had to make to get to where he is now, he watches Adrien and Marinette revel in their love. And Gabriel realizes the great debt he now owes to Marinette Dupain-Cheng.


Gabriel Agreste knows better than anyone, that with great success come even greater sacrifice.

Because he is undoubtedly one of the top designers in the world and is certainly more successful than most could ever dream of being. Because he has everything that he could ever need, everyone willing to drop everything at the snap of a finger for him. Because he is Gabriel Agreste and he is quite possibly the most powerful person in the French fashion industry.

Yet Gabriel Agreste knew loneliness like none other.

Day after day, he designed beautiful new styles, met with stunning models, travelled to exciting and exotic places, was given premium treatment wherever he set foot.

But no salary was worth the crushing loneliness of having no one who would stand by him, no matter what.

How unfortunate, that he never realized this until it was too late for him.

Standing straight and tall, his arms clasped together behind him, Gabriel Agreste walked amongst the models backstage at his show. He barely glanced at the petty arguments, snide comments, flying hair extensions, and misty clouds of hairspray whilst he walked up and down the rows of squabbling models and fussing designers. With a critical eye, he gave each model he passed a once-over, ensuring the makeup artists and hairstylists were doing their jobs properly. On the opposite side of the room, Nathalie stood, rigid and pencil straight, scribbling something on the clipboard in her hands.

But then in the corner of his eye he spotted a different scene.

Tucked away in a corner was Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Behind Marinette was a hanger rack overflowing with clothes. It was all from Marinette's line for her Paris Fashion Week debut, Tikki, and even Gabriel had at admit she had a special touch when it came to designing. Even he had been impressed by what he had seen from Marinette's Tikki line.

Even if he was still a little bitter that Marinette had stolen his most popular model.

The moment Marinette graduated from Esmod, Adrien had been very explicit about only modelling Marinette's designs. It hadn't been much of an issue when Marinette was Gabriel's protege or when she was working and designing for the Agreste brand, but Marinette had bigger dreams than working under another. For her, Gabriel Agreste was just a stepping stone to greater things. So when she left, Adrien left with her.

For a few moments Gabriel stood still in the middle of the room, distracted by thoughts of his son. A stray bottle snapped Gabriel out of his reverie when it went flying past his head. Giving an unimpressed look in the direction the bottle had come from, Gabriel moved on to inspect his remaining models. Every now and then, he would sneak a glance at the corner Adrien and Marinette had declared their own.

There was a time when Gabriel Agreste would have wanted Adrien to find a different girl, one of a higher social standing. Someone like Chloe Bourgeois, a respected politician's daughter, or any one of the lovely models Adrien met with regularly. Not a novice designer.

Anyone but a novice designer.

There had been vicious fights between Gabriel and Adrien when Gabriel first learned of Adrien's relationship with Marinette. She was just using him, Gabriel had said, Marinette only loved what she could get out of him. That she only wanted his connections in the fashion industry. His money. Status.

Marinette was in the room when Gabriel said those things. She hadn't responded angrily, as Adrien had, nor did she burst into tears, as Gabriel expected. Adrien had been on the verge of punching his own father when Marinette laid a hand on his arm and stood on her toes so she could lean up and whisper something in his ear before calmly leading him away from the mansion. At that moment, Gabriel considered this a confirmation of his suspicions that Marinette was just toying with Adrien. After all, she hadn't even tried to defend or deny any of his accusations.

Then she was accepted into Esmod, even without a reference letter. Elie Saab and Alexander Wang, amongst other designers, offered her internships during her years at Esmod. She graduated at the top of her year. And finally, after hearing countless other designers in his circle briefly mention "that Dupain-Cheng girl" with no mention of Adrien, Gabriel had to admit that he may have been completely wrong about Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Gabriel Agreste wouldn't apologize though; it simply wasn't in his nature.

But Gabriel Agreste was no fool and by the time Marinette graduated, he fought tooth and nail for Marinette to join Agreste. Not only did she have numerous other established designers all fighting for her, Marinette was also particularly opposed to working for her partner's father's label. That was a battle Gabriel did end up winning, but it was rather pyrrhic as she left a couple years later to build her own fashion empire.

Having reached the end of his line of models, Gabriel Agreste couldn't help but look back at the corner where Adrien and Marinette huddled. They were standing now, Adrien towering over Marinette while she fussed with his collar. Unlike Gabriel, who looked as polished and put together as ever, Marinette's smart peplum dress clashed with her hair which had been carelessly tossed into a messy bun held together only by a couple pens. Half her hair was falling out of her bun. Gabriel watched as another of Marinette's models approached her. She had a crazed expression in her eyes as he spoke, and ended up following him to his dressing table.

While Marinette rampaged through drawers, Adrien had sat back down at his own table. Absentmindedly, he flipped through a thick book - probably physics - as calm as could be.

For the life of him, Gabriel would never understand why Adrien was so determined to pursue a doctorate in something as trivial as nuclear physics when he could have a simple and luxurious life by modelling. But Marinette had encouraged Adrien to make his own choices, and Gabriel was no longer in a position where he could dictate Adrien's life.

With the final touches completed on all his models and a couple minutes before curtain call, Gabriel Agreste made his way to Adrien's corner. He didn't really have anything to say, but Adrien was still his son.

But, Marinette reappeared before Gabriel could reach Adrien. So Gabriel stopped in his tracks and watched how Adrien's face immediately lit up when Marinette set her hand on his shoulder. She had barely been gone for a minute, yet Adrien looked as if she had returned from a long trip and Gabriel had a sudden sense of deja-vu when he recognized that look.

Because years ago, when Gabriel was still an aspiring young designer, he wore that same expression every time he saw Adrien's mother.

His hearted panged as he watched Adrien and Marinette. There was so much love between the two of them, Gabriel could feel the love radiating from their corner.

The cue for the models to line up backstage was announced, but Gabriel Agreste didn't - couldn't - move. He trusted Nathalie to handle any last minute issues. But despite the flurry of movement surrounding them, Adrien and Marinette still had not moved.

Watching his son find love was hard. Watching Adrien look at Marinette with such love was hard. Watching Adrien gently tuck a flyaway lock of hair behind Marinette's ear was hard. Watching Adrien bend down for his 'good luck hug' was hard. Watching Adrien lay a soft kiss on Marinette's nose before pulling away was hard.

Because watching Adrien radiate such love and happiness only made it all the more obvious to Gabriel just how alone he was in that cold, giant mansion of his.

But as lonely as Gabriel Agreste was, and despite the secluded environment in which Adrien was raised, Gabriel wasn't going to interfere in his son's life anymore. Gabriel Agreste was grateful that at least his son's life would not be a lonely tragedy like his own. Adrien was far luckier than Gabriel ever had been.

Gabriel Agreste was not a superstitious man, but as he watched Adrien rush off to join the other models, he couldn't help but acknowledge that he owed a great debt to Marinette Dupain-Cheng for giving Adrien everything that Gabriel, himself, could not.

* * *

 _idek someone should stop me_

 _Arsenic is also known as rat poison and was consumed by women in the Victorian Era because it made their skin shine and look prettier. So just as Victorian girls poisoned themselves and threw away their lives for a superfluous goal, Gabriel has done the same by isolating himself from everyone who has ever cared for him._


End file.
